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² See Falola, Toyin and Ihonvbere, Julius O., The Rise and Fall of Nigeria's Second Republic, 1979–84 (London, 1985);Google ScholarIhonvbere, Julius O., ‘Instability and Military Intervention in Politics in the Periphery’, in Sanda, A. O. and Ojo, Olusola (eds.), The Impact of Military Rule on Nigerian Administration (Ile-Ife, 1987);Google Scholar and Ihonvbere, Julius O. and Shaw, Timothy M., Towards a Political Economy of Nigeria: petroleum and politics at the semi-periphery (Aldershot, 1988).Google Scholar

³ The Nigerian military has never been able to demonstrate that it is more efficient, less corrupt, and better disciplined than other interest groups in the country. According to Olarewaju, Olawale R., TELL (Lagos), 14 02 1994, this has led some to reach the conclusion that ‘ if there is any society where destruction in all aspects of all life is at its peak, it is the Nigerian society under the military’.Google Scholar For a detailed analysis, see ‘How the Military Wrecked Nigeria’, ibid. 24 January 1994.

⁴ Fawehinmi, Gani, statement at the launching of his book, The June 12 Crisis (Lagos, 1993), on 3 11 1993.Google Scholar

⁵ Personal letter to General Sani Abacha by Bolaji Akinyemi, quoted in Agboroko, Godwin, ‘Change of Guard’, in Newswatch (Lagos), 29 11 1993.Google Scholar

⁶ Following the controversy generated by contacts with Abacha's emissaries, the Campaign for Democracy (CD) claimed it could not have openly opposed the coup before it was announced because that would have meant ‘leaking’ an otherwise secret plan to the public. It called for comprehensive sanctions against the Abacha régime by the international community, restated its commitment to a sovereign national conference ‘on the terms of the Nigerian people’, and called on ‘the national and state assemblies, state governors and other elected functionaries not to surrender the people's mandate to the military impostors’. Campaign for Democracy, ‘CD Rejects the Latest Military Coup’, Press Statement, CD secretariat, Lagos, 19 November 1993.

⁷ For a discussion of the structural roots of instability and other factors which have encouraged military coups in Nigeria, see Nnoli, Okwudiba (ed.), Path to Nigerian Development (Dakar, 1981);Google ScholarAke, Claude (ed.), Political Economy of Nigeria (London, 1985);Google ScholarEkekwe, Eme, Class and State in Nigeria (Ibadan, 1986);Google Scholar and Ihonvbere, Julius O., Nigeria: the politics of adjustment and democracy (New Brunswick, NJ, 1994).Google Scholar

⁸ See Joseph, Richard, ‘Class, State and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria’, in Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics (London), 21, 3, 11 1983, pp. 21–38,CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Forrest, Tom, ‘The Political Economy of Civil Rule and the Economic Crisis in Nigeria, 1979–84’, in Review of African Political Economy (Sheffield), 35, 05 1986, pp. 4–26.Google Scholar

⁹ See Olukoshi, Adebayo (ed.), The Politics of Structural Adjustment in Nigeria (London, 1993),Google Scholar and Ihonvbere, , Nigeria (1994).Google Scholar

¹⁰ Ndubuisi, Friday N., ‘Wreckage of a Nation’, in National Concord (Lagos), 9 12 1993.Google Scholar See also, Richburg, Keith B., ‘Future Nigerian Government May Find Empty Treasury’, in The Washington Post, 31 December 1991.Google Scholar

¹¹ See Bangura, Yusuf, ‘The Crisis of Underdevelopment and the Transition to Civil Rule: conceptualizing the question of democracy in Nigeria’, in Review of African Political Economy, 37, 1986, pp. 24–37,CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Ihonvbere, Julius O., ‘Structural Adjustment and Nigeria's Democratic Transition’, in TransAfrica Forum (Washington, DC), 8, 3, Fall 1991, pp. 61–83.Google Scholar

¹² Ahmed-Baba, Salisu, ‘The Plain Truth’, in National Concord, 9 December 1993.Google Scholar

¹³ See Gana, Aaron T., ‘The Limits of Political Engineering: a critique of the transition programme’, 12th Convocation Lecture, University of Jos, 1993;Google ScholarAgbese, Pita Ogaba, ‘The Impending Demise of Nigeria's Forthcoming Third Republic’, in Africa Today (Denver), 37, 3, 1990, pp. 23–44;Google Scholar and Ihonvbere, , Nigeria (1994).Google Scholar¹⁷Falana, Femi, ‘The Struggle Has Just Started’, in TELL, 13 September 1993.Google Scholar

¹⁴ See ‘Nigeria: transition without end’, in Liberty: quarterly journal of the Civil Liberties Organization (Lagos), 4, 1, 01–04 1993, pp. 3–7;Google ScholarAdeniyi, Abiodun, ‘A Nation on Hold’, in The Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), 20 06 1993;Google Scholar and Okolo, Emeka Pat, ‘Political Ajasco Nigeriana’,Google Scholar in ibid. 4 July 1993. Ajasco is a type of dance characterised by unsteady and unpredictable movements of the body.

¹⁵ See Oduwole, Yinka, ‘Babangida Rules out Escalation of Political Crisis’, in The Guardian (Lagos), 21 07 1993.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Adams, Paul, ‘Nigeria: Babangida's boondoggle’, in Africa Report (New York), 07–08 1993, p. 26.Google Scholar

¹⁷ Falana, Femi, ‘The Struggle Has Just Started’, in TELL, 13 September 1993.Google Scholar

¹⁸ Ibid.

¹⁹ Tanimowo, Gbenga, ‘Betraying the People’, in The Guardian (Lagos), 9 08 1993.Google Scholar

²⁰ See Gusha, Fred, ‘Uneasy Lies the Head’, in Point (Port Harcourt), 12 07 1993. Sir John Wheeler, MP, a UK member of the International Observer Team, stated categorically that no part of the exercise was ‘interfered with’.Google Scholar

²¹ ‘A Vote for NEC’, in ibid.

²² Omoruyi, Omo, quoted by Osifo-Whiskey, Onome and Akinkuotu, Ayodele, ‘A Dance on the Precipice’, in TELL, 19 July 1993.Google Scholar

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²⁴ See Omotunde, Dele, ‘Babangida's Zig-Zag Democracy’, in TELL, 26 July 1993. According to this writer, the Nigerian political class ‘seems not aware of the enormity of the calamity that has befallen the nation. Instead of joining forces together to chase the fox away first and then come later to apportion blames to the impetuous chickens among them, they have unwittingly succumbed to the divide-and-rule tactics of their political nemesis’.Google Scholar

²⁵ See Ihonvbere, Julius O. and Vaughan, Olufemi, ‘Nigeria: democracy and civil society. The Nigerian Transition Programme, 1985–1993’, in Wiseman, John (ed.), Democracy and Political Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (London, 1995), pp. 71–91.Google Scholar

²⁶ See ‘Nigeria Boils’, in TELL, 19 July 1993,Google Scholar and Akin-Aina, Wale, ‘Days of Rage’, in Newswatch (Lagos), 19 07 1993.Google Scholar

²⁷ Campaign for Democracy, ‘Be Ready for More Action as from Monday July 5, 1993’, Lagos, CD secretariat, July 1993.

²⁸ Ibid.

²⁹ Civil Liberties Organisation, ‘Special Message to the Police and Armed Forces’, Lagos, CLO secretariat, 1993.Google Scholar

³⁰ For more details on the protests, see Akin-Aina, loc. cit.; Osifo-Whiskey and Akinkuotu, loc. cit.; Falana, loc. cit.; Enahoro, Anthony, ‘No Case for Fresh Elections’, in TELL, 19 July 1993; and documents at the secretariats of the Constitutional Rights Project and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, as well as the CLO and the CD.Google Scholar

³¹ National Association of Sea Dogs, quoted in Akin-Aina, loc. cit.

³² The Organisation of Nigerians in the Americans (ONA), for instance, sent strongly worded letters to (i) Dr Iyorchia Ayu, then president of the Nigerian Senate, urging him and the National Assembly to lead the protests against Babangida; (ii) the leaders of the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Japan; and (iii) the Secretary-Generals of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the United Nations (UN), and the Commonwealth.

³³ Campaign for Peace and Democracy, ‘Protests Suppression of Democracy in Nigeria’, in New York Review of Books, 7 10 1993, and Peace and Democracy News (New York), 7, 2, Winter 1993–4.Google Scholar

³⁴ See Adams, Paul, ‘Nigeria's Government Proscribes Newspapers’, in Financial Times (London), 17 08 1993.Google Scholar

³⁵ Shehu Yar Adua was a leading contender for the SDP presidential ticket until disqualified in 1992 by General Babangida. After unsuccessfully sponsoring Alhaji Mohammed Atiku for nomination, Yar Adua emerged as the leader of the anti-Abiola faction within the SDP. He found it easy, based on his personal ambition, to support the Babangida agenda and the annulment of the June 1993 presidential elections.

³⁶ Babangida, Ibrahim, ‘Valedictory Address to the Nation’, State House, Abuja, 26 August 1993, reproduced in full in The Guardian, 27 August 1993.Google Scholar

³⁷ Named after a section in the Nigerian Criminal Code, ‘419’ refers to the now well-known ‘fax scam’ through which foreigners and other business persons are defrauded of huge sums of money.

³⁸ Interview with an activist at CD headquarters, Imaria Street, Anthony Village, Lagos, July 1994.

³⁹ Ekaba, Benedicta, ‘Point Zero in the Rewane Case’, in The News (Lagos), 23 10 1995.Google Scholar

⁴⁰ See Othman, Shehu, ‘Classes, Crises and Coup: the demise of Shagari's regime’, in African Affairs (London), 83, 333, 10 1994, pp. 441–61;Google ScholarEkwe-Ekwe, Herbert, ‘The Nigerian Plight: Shagari to Buhari’, in Third World Quarterly (London), 7, 3, 07 1985, pp. 610–25;Google Scholar and Falola and Ihonvbere, op. cit. 1985.

⁴¹ See Fawehinmi, Gani, ‘June 12 is the Rebirth of Nigeria’, in TELL, 13 September 1993.Google Scholar

⁴² Ibid.

⁴³ Useh, Abraham, ‘Return of the Military: fear of apocalypse’Google Scholar, in ibid. 6 December 1993.

⁴⁴ Akinkuotu, Ayodele, ‘State of the Nation: the drift must stop’Google Scholar, in ibid. 14 February 1994.

⁴⁵ Obasanjo, Olusegun, ‘Let's Prevent Another Enthronement of Evil’, Keynote Address at the Conference Organised by Arewa House, Kaduna, 2 February 1994Google Scholar, reproduced in ibid.

⁴⁶ Interview with a pro-democracy activist, Lagos, December 1993.

⁴⁷ Interview with Femi Falani, Lagos, December 1993.

⁴⁸ See Teniola, Eric, ‘Dilemma over Proposed Constitution’, and Ndubuisi, Friday, “Conference: what role for military?”, in National Concord, 1 02 1994.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ See ‘Get Set for the Worst’, in The News, 14 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁵⁰ ‘Construction of Nigeria's Gas Plant Underway’, in UBA Monthly Business and Economic Digest (Lagos), 17, 6, 06 1994, pp. 11–12.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Abraham Useh, loc. cit.

⁵² Olusegun Obasanjo, op. cit.

⁵³ Damzag, Nick, ‘The Lessons of June 12’, in TELL, 14 February 1993.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ See, for example, Chukwurah, Henry, ‘As If There'll Be No Tomorrow’, in National Concord, 20 January 1994; Abiola Phillips, ‘To Move Forward’, and Salisu Suleiman, ‘The Contraption Called Nigeria’, in The Guardian, 11 February 1994;Google Scholar and Agboola, Yinka, ‘Those Who Hide Yesterday’,Google Scholar and Ogunlewe, Emmanuel, ‘What Needs Be Done’, in The Punch (Ikeja), 24 02 1994.Google Scholar***********

⁵⁵ According to ‘Massacres in Nigeria’, in Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa Newsletter (New York), 8, Spring 1995, pp. 4–6, 39 other persons were arrested, and 34 declared wanted, including all known human rights and pro-democracy activists in Edo State.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ See the Committee for Defence of Human Rights publication, Victims, as well as reports by Human Rights Watch–Africa and Amnesty International.Google Scholar

⁵⁷ ‘Nigerian Military Cracks Down on Democratic Activists’, in Newsletter of the National Endowment for Democracy (New York), Summer 1995.Google Scholar

⁵⁸ Olorunyomi, Dapo, ‘Coup d'Etat’, in The News, 13 March 1995.Google Scholar

⁵⁹ See ‘Coup Fall Out – Aziza Hangs Plotters’, in ibid. 24 July 1995.

⁶⁰ See Udogu, E. I., ‘National Integration Attempts in Nigerian Politics’, in Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism (Charlottetown), 17, 1–2, 1990, pp. 157–75,Google Scholar and ‘The Allurement of Ethnonationalism in Nigerian Politics: the contemporary debate’, in Journal of Asian and African Studies (Leiden), 29, 3–4, 1994, pp. 159–171.Google Scholar

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⁶² See ‘Echoes from Ogonis UN Testimony’, in Daily Sketch (Ibadan), 23 11 1993;Google ScholarEfeni, Emmanuel, ‘When Ogoni Got UN Hearing’, in The Guardian, 14 December 1995;Google Scholar and Naanen, Ben, ‘Oil-producing Minorities and the Restructuring of Nigerian Federalism: the case of the Ogoni people’, in Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 33, 1, 1995, pp. 46–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁶³ Lukula, Tayo, ‘Final Judgement?’, in The News, 25 September 1995.Google Scholar

⁶⁴ ‘Ogoni Verdicts – Abacha's Final Revenge’, in TELL, 13 November 1995.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ ‘Nigeria Foaming with Blood’, in The Economist (London), 18–24 11 1995, editorial, pp. 17–18.Google Scholar

⁶⁶ See Ogbonna, Chris ‘Sanctions: shape up or ship out’, in TELL, 18 December 1995.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ See Tijani, Aminu, ‘Nigeria's Diplomatic Crisis: Aso Rock's jitters’Google Scholar, in ibid. 4 December 1995, and his ‘Aso Rock's Game Plan: Abacha fights back’, in ibid, 18 December 1995. Aso Rock is the official house of the Nigerian Government in Abuja, the federal capital.

⁶⁸ To be sure, many popular groups are weak and led by individuals with little of no political experience and credibility. This has implications for their ability to remain relevant, to mobilise the people, and to serve as viable platforms for challenging military dictatorship.

⁶⁹ Campaign for Democracy, ‘CD Rejects the Latest Military Coup’, Press Statement, CD secretariat, Lagos, 19 November 1993.

⁷⁰ According to ‘The Military Must Go’, interview with Chief Michael Ajasin, in TELL, 10 April 1995, this leader of the Awoist group was unable to persuade Lateef Jakande not to serve in Abacha's cabinet, and was not even consulted by Ebenezer Babatope before the latter did likewise.Google Scholar

⁷¹ Tanimowo, loc. cit.

⁷² See Akintunde, Muyiwa, ‘How the Military Flaunts Its Might’, in Newswatch, 12 July 1993, and ‘The Army in Crisis’, in The News, 6 December 1993.Google Scholar

⁷³ Agbese, Dan, ‘In Their Custody’, in Newswatch, 12 July 1993.Google Scholar

⁷⁴ Interview, Lagos, December 1993.

⁷⁵ Magaji, Abdulrazaq, ‘Law-Makers in Limbo’, in Newswatch, 5 July 1993.Google Scholar

⁷⁶ ‘A Financial Sink-hole’, in ibid. 29 March 1993.

⁷⁷ See Oyatomi, Kunle, ‘National Assembly Gulps ₦5 Billion… Spends ₦45 Million Weekly on Hotel Expenses’, in Sunday Vanguard (Lagos), 24 10 1993.Google Scholar

⁷⁸ Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Nigeria Stolen by the Generals: Abuja after the Harare Commonwealth declaration (London, Commonwealth Secretariat, 1995), p. 25.Google Scholar Obviously, there is no room for complacency, because all Nigerians need to be encouraged to retain their commitment to democracy. See Obasanjo, Olusegun, ‘Sustaining Democracy’, in Liberty (Lagos), 4, 1, 01–04 1993;Google ScholarAbubakar, S. M., ‘Nigerians Live in Bondage’, in TELL, 6 December 1993; Atiku Abubakar, ‘Democracy Now: an Open Letter to the Head of State, General Sani Abacha’, in The Punch, 20 December 1993; Abiola Phillips, ‘To Move Forward’, in The Guardian, 11 February 1994; and ‘A Revolution Is Knocking’, interview with retired Major-General Alexander Madiebo, in The News, 14 February 1994.Google Scholar

⁷⁹ See Akinlami, Taiwo, ‘Time to End Military Rule’, in Tempo (Lagos), 28 12 1995, and ‘Abacha Must Go’Google Scholar, in ibid.

⁸⁰ See Ogwa, Sam, ‘Nigeria: trekking towards democracy’, in West Africa (London), 25 12 1995–1997 January 1996;Google ScholarEzuluike, Moses, ‘Politicians Prepare for Negotiations’, in Daily Champion (Lagos), 11 01 1996;Google ScholarIyolo, Stephen and Ogbontiba, Femi Ade, ‘Govt to Parley with Select Politicians’, in Nigerian Tribune (Ibadan), 11 01 1996;Google Scholar and Esajere, Akpo, ‘Pitfalls in Transition, by Ciroma’, in The Guardian, 18 January 1996.Google Scholar

⁸¹ ‘Abacha's Anniversary Broadcast’, in West Africa, 9–15 October 1995.Google Scholar

⁸² See ‘Walter Ofonagoro Warns Government's Critics’, and Abdulsalami, Isa, ‘Oyo Police Warn Against Rallies’, in The Guardian, 22 December 1995;Google Scholar and ‘Abacha's Axe Falls on Workers: thousands rendered jobless’, in The Week (Lagos), 22 01 1996.Google Scholar

⁸³ See ‘Police Nab NADECO Members in Benin’, in The Punch, 22 December 1995; Onabanjo, Dipo, ‘Liars in Government’Google Scholar, in ibid. 11 January 1996; and Ogbodo, John, ‘March Polls, a Time Bomb–Sule Lamido’, in Today's News Today (Lagos), 18 01 1996.Google Scholar

⁸⁴ It is important to mention that some of the appointees to these committees lack the credibility to make them of much use to a beleaguered régime.

⁸⁵ See Odeyemi, Diran, Olaosebikan, Kehinde, and Ojeifo, Sufuyan, ‘Afenifere Awaits NECON Rules’, in Vanguard, 11 January 1996.Google Scholar

⁸⁶ See ‘Panic Grips Aso Rock – Military on Red Alert’, in TELL, 4 December 1995;Google Scholar and ‘“There Will Be More Bloodshed…” Saro Wiwa's Brother’, in ibid. 15 January 1996; and ‘We Are in a Mess – Dapo Fafowora’, in Tempo, 18 January 1996.Google Scholar

⁸⁷ See ‘Panic Grips Aso Rock’, loc. cit.; ‘The Junta's War Plan – How Abacha Will Deal with the World’, in TELL, 18 December 1995; ‘First Blood – Nigeria Takes on South Africa’, in The Sunday Magazine (Lagos), 14 January 1996; and ‘Nigeria Versus South Africa’, in The Week, 15 January 1996.Google Scholar

⁸⁸ ‘Abacha's Anniversary Broadcast’, op. cit.

⁸⁹ See ‘It's Time to Quit – Enahoro Warns Abacha’, in The News, 22 January 1996.Google Scholar

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